Sport Briefs (March 13, 2013)Special Olympics state basketball tournament The city of Russellville will once again host the Special Olympics Arkansas state basketball tournament Friday and Saturday inside gymnasiums at MiChild (Friendship), Russellville Junior High School and Russellville High School. Call Darla Jones at 264-4831 to volunteer or for more information. Sand Lizard alumni game Saturday DARDANELLE — Dardanelle High School will host the ninth annual Sand Lizar...

River Valley Junior Rodeo to begin seasonThe River Valley Junior Rodeo (RVJR) will open its season on Friday at the Pope County Riding Club Arena in Russellville. The opener will feature kids between the ages of 8-18 participate in traditional rodeo events including pole-bending, goat-tying, break-away roping and barrel racing. For the 11-and-under crowd, there will be calf riding and for the 12-and-up crowd, the more dangerous steer riding. This is the first year the event has taken...

Local archers compete in regionalsArrows were flying at six sites during the Arkansas National Archery in the Schools Program regional tournaments on Feb. 9. More than 2,700 elementary to high school students competed for the right to go on to state tournament competition. Pottsville Elementary (2,970 points) and Middle School (3,224 points) archery teams both won their respective divisions. Winners from each regional tournament will now go on to compete in the state tournamen...

Zepeda qualifies for state gymnastics meetCONWAY — Cynthia Zepeda of Russellville and a gymnast at Tena’s Gymnasitcs and Cheerleading, competed in the Sonshine Invitational Gymnastics meet in Conway on Feb. 3. Zepeda earned second place in the vault with a score of 9.1. She then moved on to the uneven parallel bars where she scored a 6.85, enough for fourth place. She finished on her strongest events, the balance beam and the floor, and won both with a 9.175 on the balance beam and a ...

Dardanelle 7th grade Lizards win tournamentThe Dardanelle seventh-grade Sand Lizards defeated the Two Rivers seventh-grade Gators in the Dardanelle Middle School tournament held in Sand Lizard Gymnasium on Saturday. The seventh-grade Lizards defeated Western Yell 14-1 in the first round. Leading scorers in that game were Sean Via with six points and Carter Chandler with four. Meanwhile, Two Rivers topped Lamar 20-14. In the semi-finals, Dardanelle defeated Danville 14-9. Via led in sco...

Eastside survives rival Westside 13-6Colors Day was spoiled Thursday night at Cyclone stadium for the Russellville Junior High School Whirlwinds. Well, at least for half of them. The Eastside Whirlwinds defeated the West, 13-6 in the inner-school rivalry game that for many players is the most anticipated game of the entire season. “It was a tremendous game by two great teams,” West head coach Josh Edgin said. “It didn’t come out the way we wanted it to, but I’m proud of the way t...

Utah youth football coach maintains innocence PAYSON, Utah (AP) — A Utah youth football coach accused of hitting an opposing ball carrier under the chin with his forearm during a game and giving the boy a concussion maintains his innocence. Nathan Harris, in his first public statement since his arrest after the Oct. 6 incident in Payson, said the 13-year-old boy ran into him near the sideline at the end of a play and he never moved toward the boy. "The play came around the edge and looked...

Ex-baseball coach pleads not guilty to sex charge TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — A former youth baseball coach pleaded not guilty to transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to have sex, prosecutors said Tuesday. Walter Richard Roberts, 61, of Texarkana was taken back into custody after a brief court appearance during which he entered the not guilty plea. He's due back in court Sept. 4 for a detention hearing. Prosecutors said Roberts was a youth baseball coach from 1986 through 1994. ...

Sand Lizards swim with the SharksDARDANELLE —Four young Dardanelle swimmers learned that Sand Lizards also like the water. Stephen Brown, Caleb Bailey, Addyson Seay and Andrew Seay completed the season with 44 top 10 finishes and two gold medals. “We are so excited to have this opportunity for our children” Ed Seay, proud parent, said. “We hope that next year more parents in other communities will take advantage of the Sharks’ wonderful swim program.” Seay said swimming with ...

British Soccer Camps score with youthFriday saw the conclusion of the annual British Soccer Camp at Old Post Park. The camps began Monday and throughout the week there were plenty of opportunities for campers to learn and practice soccer fundamentals and sportsmanship, but most of all to have fun. “It’s a fun camp,” said Theresa Magill, the local camp coordinator. “I call it an energizer camp. It gets the kids ready for the Arkansas Valley Soccer Association (ASVA) league play in...

Summer camps conclude at ATUThe boy’s basketball summer camps concluded Friday at Arkansas Tech University’s Tucker Coliseum. Coaches emphasized the camp, which started Wednesday, intended to teach the fundamentals of basketball and to also give the kids a positive influence and output during the summer months. “It’s something good for them to do in the summer,” Wonder Boys assistant coach Chad Kline said. “They come here for three full days and get the fundamentals down...

Local anglers finish day 1 strongDover Youth Fishing Club (DYFC) Bass Mafia teams finished strong after the first day of fishing concluded Thursday on Lake Dardanelle during the 2012 High School Fishing World Finals. Of the 120 teams competing, four Bass Mafia teams finished in the top 20, and two finished the day in the top five. Cody Chessher and Tara Miller, both 17, are currently in second place, after they hauled in five fish for a total weight of 15.04 pounds. “We didn’...

Changing of the AVSA guardThe Arkansas Valley Soccer Association (AVSA) has experienced a changing of the guard after Mark Frost stepped down as director of registration. Frost has been in charge of registration for the past four years, but he has been affiliated with the league for 14 years. In that time he has seen the league grow in numbers substantially. When he took over four years ago, there were 425 players. Last year there were 670. Frost was reluctant to say t...

Hector Pharmacy to play for state title todayThe Hector Pharmacy Teeny A baseball team finished district tournament runner-up recently and has defeated Plummerville, the East End Krushers, Morrilton Aces and the Danville Titans to reach the Arkansas Amateur Baseball Association’s A state tournament game at J.P. Lovelady Park in Dover. Hector Pharmacy will play for the state championship at 7:15 p.m. against either Morrilton or Danville. The AABA AA baseball tournament is being played in ...

Not too hot or crowded for SharksThe Russellville Sharks swim team returns home for its third meet of the season today at M.J. Hickey Pool. Combined, the River Valley Swim League event will host about 300 swimmers ages 6-18 from Russellville, Clarksville, Paris, Ozark, Alma and Waldron. Janna Ritchie and Danya Johnson are co-head coaches this summer for the Sharks, while Erick Oynes is serving as the team’s volunteer coach. Ritchie said Thursday the season has been “awesome.”...

Field of AngelsPOTTSVILLE — It was a typcial Saturday morning. Parents and children from around the Arkansas River Valley gathered at the baseball fields for the final game of the season. Only this was no ordinary game. Players on each team clapped and supported one another every time the ball was hit. The fielding team cheered for the batting team as the children “rounded” the bases. Parents congratulated one another for their children’s accomplishments and...

These Ducks are awfully MightyThe ultimate goal for competitors is to be known as the best at what they do. As the old cliché goes, “to be the best, you have to beat the best.” The Arkansas Mighty Ducks, a U11 travel team based in Russellville, will get that chance in August when they participate in the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Elite World Series. Only 32 teams from across the country in each age group from 9-14 are invited each year to play at th...